Drawing on its historic contribution to responsible, human-centered design, Industrial Design (or ID) teaches students to use critical thinking and the design process itself to bring new value to companies, communities and citizens. Professors with expertise in a wide range of areas guide students in researching user experiences to create well-conceived and executed objects, products and systems that make everyday tasks easier.

Degree Programs

In the Studio

In responding to assigned projects, ID majors work with a wide range of materials in the process of designing objects, products, systems and experiences. Students develop ideas by starting with sketches and drawings, and moving on to models and working prototypes.

Isaac Blankensmith | senior

"My parents both went to RISD, so I had been hearing about it forever. But since I’d been thinking about going into engineering, I really had no interest in coming here myself. Then I visited — and as soon as I got to see the ID department, I realized it was exactly what I had been looking for. Being here has changed everything. It has made me really think about my own work and what it means and where I fit in."

Student Work

Rene Chen MID 13

Kaitlyn Schoeck BFA 13

Nina Hardy BFA 12

Amy Goldfeder MID 13

Robert Lillquist BFA 12

Kebei Li BFA 14

Christina Xu BFA 13

Soojung Ham | associate professor + department head

"We prepare students to work across all means and modes of systematized production — from products and meaningful objects, to technologies and new tools, to strategic services. To enrich their research process and final designs, students are encouraged to both tinker and then prototype, test and validate their work in our shops and through the critique process."

ID alumni go on to make a real difference through design, offering innovative solutions to a wide range of needs. They start their own businesses, join cutting-edge studios and work for organizations and corporations, contributing to almost every field imaginable by creating medical devices, household products, alternative transportation vehicles, nanotech devices, new materials and much more…